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Who knew!?
By Amanda Chatel — Written on Dec 06, 2020
There's no other time like the holidays to examine your life and how lucky you are to be surrounded by friends and family. But depending on whether you're a man or a woman, you may be more into the holiday season.
Do you know why men love Christmas more than women? Well, you might as well take a look at your relationship with your significant other and see just what makes you click.
We're not suggesting you sit down and have a deep, intense one-on-one under the mistletoe, but make a game out of it instead.
Because when it comes to the Christmas spirit, not everyone is always on board, and it can have an impact on your relationship.
In 2011, the website Tokii, which is aimed at helping couples grow closer and communicate better through the use of games and quizzes, performed a study about men and women during the holidays.
In the name of holidays and all things merry, Tokii put together statistics comparing how men and women view certain aspects of the holidays differently.
It turns out that men are quite laid-back, whereas women are far more concerned with hosting, cleaning, and overall expectations of the holidays.
Just ask your partner and yourself a question, then compare the results to see exactly where the two of you fall on different subjects, concerns, and topics as important as religion, and as light-hearted as how much you love Christmas.
Here are a few more things Tokii found about men and women during the holiday season.
1. Men are worried about less.
Eighty-one percent of women cite "cleaning/cost/expectations" as the most stressful component of hosting a holiday gathering, whereas 64 percent of the male counterpart found stress in "cleaning."
Yes, just "cleaning" — no shopping, no cooking, no hanging up the Christmas lights, just "cleaning."
Men, you really don't stress out about the holidays, do you?
2. Men deal with their stress differently.
When it came to how the genders dealt with stress, 50 percent of women wish that they didn't "take it out on others" when they're stressed with holiday excitement.
However, 50 percent of men wish they didn't "withdraw or complain" when faced with the same feeling.
This sounds about right.
3. Men are less stressed than women.
In dealing with this inescapable stress, 45 percent of women turn to alcohol to relax, compared to 43 percent of men who do the same.
While men handle their stress this way, they do so slightly less than women.
4. Men love Christmas more.
On a lighter note, 59 percent of men and 50 percent of women considered Christmas to be their favorite holiday.
Take that, Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Valentine's Day!
Perhaps that nine percent difference can be attributed to how a lot of the hosting and entertaining weight is put on the woman's plate? Perhaps just maybe?
The statistics continue on, and although not every possible holiday-related issue is covered, it's interesting to see these findings and apply them to your own relationship.
Knowledge is power, and, in the end, it will only make you closer.
Editor's Note: This article was originally posted in December 2011 and was updated with the latest information.
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Amanda Chatel is a writer and essayist whose work has been published in Shape Magazine, Bustle, Glamour, Harper's Bazaar, The Atlantic, Forbes, Livingly, Mic, The Bolde, Huffington Post and others. Follow her on Twitter for more.